Do superhero toys really suck?

> One thing that really irks me is the printing on
> the chest panel. The red/yellow glow printing is
> slightly grainy and pixelated, and really looks
> rough compared to the otherwise clean and sharp
> paint job. I also really wish that, since they
> went with the glow printing effect, they would
> have also painted the ends of the wrist guns,
> instead of leaving them the molded purple color.

This seems like the sort of thing you ought to be able to correct quite easily!

fujikuro Wrote:
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> Prometheum5 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > One thing that really irks me is the printing
> on
> > the chest panel. The red/yellow glow printing
> is
> > slightly grainy and pixelated, and really looks
> > rough compared to the otherwise clean and sharp
> > paint job. I also really wish that, since they
> > went with the glow printing effect, they would
> > have also painted the ends of the wrist guns,
> > instead of leaving them the molded purple
> color.
>
> This seems like the sort of thing you ought to be
> able to correct quite easily!

As problems with toys go, yes. Truth be told, I'm sorta tempted to repaint the entire thing in the metallic blue and purple of the ONE squad, but that would be a heck of an undertaking. It WOULD make a great excuse to get a second...

Prometheum5 Wrote:
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> I like what the pads do to the silhouette, but I'm
> not super keen on how they have the molded battle
> damage while nothing else on the figure does.

Well, if you like the original look (and color scheme), they're totally wrong. And molded battle damage? Yuck.

Also, the chest panel is supposed to be pixelated-looking. Again, look at a lot of the original art.

Sanjeev Wrote:
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> Prometheum5 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I like what the pads do to the silhouette, but
> I'm
> > not super keen on how they have the molded
> battle
> > damage while nothing else on the figure does.
>
> Well, if you like the original look (and color
> scheme), they're totally wrong. And molded battle
> damage? Yuck.
>
> Also, the chest panel is supposed to be
> pixelated-looking. Again, look at a lot of the
> original art.

So wouldn't the pixelated chest effect be more appropriate for the OG colored version? It stands out as weird looking on the regular version.

Possibly. I haven't actually seen that new Sentinel design in a comic, so I don't know how it looks (hence my revulsion at the colors and shoulders). If that's not how it looks in the new comics, then by all means, repaint it. Still...that's odd because this whole toy is obviously designed to be the modern Sentinel. A throwback chest panel seems out of place.

Well, I'ma get the old-school color version...but I'm not sure how I'm gonna fix the shoulders...

The parachute version of Captain America from the movie line is really nice. I know someone else posted that the heavy artillery was the most comic accurate looking but i think this one is based on looking at both in the package. The Winter Soldier from that line is fucking awesome too.
-Mason

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Matthewalt &quot;I actually kinda LIKE that approach! You know: let's make a TOY. Remember those? Products designed to be played with without breaking? DO YOU REMEMBER, LOVE?!&quot;

I don't read X-men, so I dunno what the latest Sentinels look like. The Sentinels that come for mind for me are the cartoon version, and the ONE Starktech ones, and the toy is pretty close to the latter. Oh, and X-51 from when he was infected with Sentinel tech, but he hardly counts to most people. Looking over the Xmen wiki and whatnot, it sounds like current Sentinels are actually still the ONE manned units.

mcfitch Wrote:
> The Winter Soldier from that line is fucking awesome too.

Much nicer than the Marvel Universe Winter Soldier in some ways, most of all that he doesn't come with that same stupid M-16 that appears to be the only gun in the MU line, but I don't like the head sculpt on the new Winter Soldier - his face is so flat. Also, pretty much every one I've seen has had fuzzy paint edges all around his mask. Hopefully he can swap heads with the older MU figure.

As much as I loved the original movie, I never pined for a toy rendition of this character. Then again, I'm pretty averse to toys based on live-action properties in general, with a few exceptions (wish Art Asylum would move faster on that Klingon Bird of Prey...).

As for this figure, based on a dollar-to-joy ratio, it's one of my most satisfying purchases as of late, right up there with the Thundercats Classics figs and assorted TFs.

$16 or so gets you gangsta Robocop and a lot of fun.

I had a preorder for the Figma version at BBTS for a while, but ultimately decided that I'm at that stage in life when spending $50+ on an action figure kind of deflates the whole experience for me (NOT THAT I CAN'T AFFORD IT!). Sure the Figma will probably look better, but this one is a fantastic toy, and even better when you consider the cost. A hair over 7 inches tall, with joints that are nice and tight all around (I had to freeze the thing to unlock the forearms, but other than that, everything was good.) There are even ratchets in the knees and ankles.

Articulation can be found in the neck (ball), shoulders (hinge + swivel), elbows, forearms, chest (ball), waist, hips (ball), knees, and ankles. And the optional right forearm comes with a data spike made of a nice sliver of sharp plastic. The gun is also composed of a clackety goodness.

Alas, working pistons:

Anyway, a really solid, playable, and to my eyes, good-looking fig. Only caveat, and this is a notable one, is that you go to a brick-and-mortar and pick it out yourself. QC is all over the place (per some of the video reviews I've seen)--make sure the helmet is correctly positioned (to cover the nose) and look for paint defects, etc.

I went with the Figma...and I'll post my thoughts when it arrives. This one doesn't look half bad, though. The thing that I'm super gun-shy about is PVC in action figures like this. Nothing to me screams "LOW QUALITY" than doughy or uneven edges, bent parts, the paint flaws you'd expect with a PVC toy, etc. I'm not saying the NECA has much of that from the pics, but I'd probably have to handle one in person. I'm hoping the Figma incorporates more rigid plastic and feels "sharper", with smooth joints, and a more stable feel.

It probably will be of higher quality material (for close to $60 shipped, I would hope so). If Robocop were a figure that I'd lusted for all my life, then yeah, I would have waited for Figma's tricked-out version. But it's one of those figures I can live without (and I didn't see enough sculpt differences to justify the switch), so the NECA serves its purpose. Didn't really notice any major paint problems or warpage, though I'm also not as discriminating as some here. The most important thing for me, besides noticeable QC snafus, are the joints, and NECA handled them really well. They're very tight.

That's cheaper than BBTS (surprise, surprise)--probably about $45-50 with the exchange rate and SAL shipping, though still more than I'd throw down on a measly action figure (unless it's a GI Joe...just found out that the 25th Dial-Tone that I paid $40 for [cost of GI Joe Club membership] is going for around $200 on eBay now...sheesh). Looking forward to your review.

Looks almost identical to Super Combat Cap from the Cap movie line.
(Which I highly recommend. Super Combat Cap was the best figure of the movie costume design. I'd also recommend Battlefield Cap, a comic-based WWII Cap that reminds me of the flashbacks from Ed Brubaker's Cap books.)

Forget the exact scenes, I want to reenact things that didn't quite happen on screen. I want to get some tiny chairs and a table and Re-Ment food and have Nick Fury, unmasked Tony and unmasked Cap hanging out and having lunch together.

I've never bought a super hero action figure before, but I was willing to take a flyer on the latest Dr. Strange figure - if ever I could find one at retail. Finally came across one the other day - aaand I still haven't ever bought a super hero action figure. It just seems like it's impossible to achieve the quality of these characters in plastic form. Best super hero action figure ever is still the Mego Hulk.

Hillsy mentioned earlier the Captain Action and marvel suits. I picked up a CA and Captain America (my favorite marvel comic do-gooder) and I must say that overall they are nice. To be honest I think I prefer the retro funk of the old CA outfit, but since I have a Playing Mantis reissue of the original I felt compelled to display him in the Captain America outfit. In a way I kind of prefer the odd proportions and strange of modelness of this Captain America to the photo-realism of the Hot Toys. The only problem I see is that the vinyl boots, gloves, and facemask are sticky in that henshin-cyborg-face-and-extrimity-melting sort of way. I am fully prepared to one day try and remove only to find that it has permanently melted to the head...You know kind of how the old henshin cyborg suits used to melt the bodies underneath them int little formless blobs of semi-congealed plastic...

fujikuro Wrote:
> I've never bought a super hero action figure
> before, but I was willing to take a flyer on the
> latest Dr. Strange figure - if ever I could find
> one at retail. Finally came across one the other
> day - aaand I still haven't ever bought a super
> hero action figure. It just seems like it's
> impossible to achieve the quality of these
> characters in plastic form.

The 4" Marvel Universe figure?
That line is really hit and miss. There are a few stellar figures, and a lot of ones that are just barely good enough to fit in alongside the better releases.

That Dr. Strange is very weird. The character depiction, especially the face, is wishy-washy, not committing to any specific style that Strange has been drawn in (unlike, frinstance, the Jim Lee-style Cyclops from the 4" Marvel Universe line, which looks great). It also suffers from a common action figure problem - the smaller a posable figure is, the harder it is to sculpt cloth garments that seem to drape realistically.

Wait, they're doing a Jeremy Renner Hawkeye in the 3.75" line? Weird that the card backs of the currently released figures show the masked Hawkeye and not this one. You'd think they'd want to promote such a handsome, charismatic toy.

Well, the whole nature of the 3-3/4" figure has changed so much over the past few decades, it's really impossible to compare. That said, I'm with Adam: $20 for a modern Joe/SW/MU figure is just not what I'm willing to pay. Especially given their *meh* quality...

And while those Captain Action figs look pretty neat with their simplicity and nice retro style, this looks DAMN tempting:
[www.bigbadtoystore.com]